Here comes the bride, introduced by an acoustic guitar...

January 30, 2012 3:38 PM

Songs for wedding processional and recessional.

I'm getting married in the summer. Most of the big things are sorted out already, and now we're trying to work out the fine details.

One thing we're having trouble figuring out is the music. We're coming up with a lot of great songs for the reception brunch (there will likely be no dance, but we'll have music playing while we eat and such), but we're having trouble coming up with songs for the processional and recessional.

We are thinking about hiring someone to play guitar for music during the ceremony, so songs that sound good on an acoustic guitar, without vocals, are what we're looking for.

Something simple but upbeat, and a little bit more unique than "Wedding March" would be great. We are open to just about anything, we're just having difficulty figuring it out on our own.

So...wedding planners, married people, and music geeks of MetaFilter, recommend some good songs for our wedding party and my fiancee to walk down the aisle to (and then for us both to exit the church to).

Potentially relevant details:

- We are both in our late 20s
- We are getting married in a small church
- We are Unitarian, so if there is some kind of Unitarian wedding march that we are unaware of, that might be nice
- We've been looking at a lot of Frank Sinatra, "crooner" type music, but a lot of that stuff doesn't seem to translate well to the guitar (or, at least, we can't find good examples)

posted by asnider to Media & Arts (22 answers total)

Response by poster: Oh, a song to play while we're signing the paperwork would be good, too; something simple and not distracting, but which will entertain the guests for 3 or 4 minutes while we make the whole thing legal.
posted by asnider at 3:39 PM on January 30, 2012

Who are your favorite artists? It was an easy choice for us - The Beatles.

It may be easier to make a 'do not play' list.
posted by just sayin at 3:50 PM on January 30, 2012

You will find some great suggestions here.
posted by halogen at 3:55 PM on January 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

In the crooner tradition: Here's what I Can't Give You Anything But Love sounds like on two guitars.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:04 PM on January 30, 2012

I was at a wedding where "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles was played on acoustic guitar; it was lovely.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:05 PM on January 30, 2012

Listen to songs by Vitamin String Quartet. They aren't guitar but may help narrow down some options (link goes to the wedding album but they have tons). I walked down to "In Your Eyes" by them because it was pretty and the song had special meaning for me and my father (who wasn't able to walk me down the aisle).
posted by adorap0621 at 5:15 PM on January 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

We used:
The Book Of Love - Magnetic Fields.
Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles
Across The Universe - The Beatles

(we got married in a planetarium, and my wife is a huge Beatles fan, so
a no brainer on the last two).
posted by alikins at 5:45 PM on January 30, 2012

We did the same thing for music (instrumental guitar), and my processional was a double bonus, because it has a great title to put on the program: "The Dress Looks Nice on You" by Sufjan Stevens.
posted by hellogoodbye at 5:59 PM on January 30, 2012

We used a nice spritely strings version of "Seasons of Love," from Rent. I thought it was pretty perfect.
posted by ninjakins at 7:21 PM on January 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Some good suggestions so far! Thanks!

just sayin asked about favourite artists. Between the two of us, some favourites that would probably lead themselves to instrumental guitar:

- Cake
- Sinatra (or maybe no, as I said above)
- Leonard Cohen (though, most of his songs are too cynical)
- Queen
- Tom Waits (probably ditto on the Cohen comment)
- Simon and Garfunkel

I'll try and think of others, too, to help spur suggestions.
posted by asnider at 7:26 PM on January 30, 2012

I got married last summer, and my wife walked down the aisle to Something by the Beatles - which Frank Sinatra called "the greatest love song ever written." My best man played it on guitar while my dad played melody on the saxophone, so I'm not sure it would work on just guitar, but it might.

It was perfect.
posted by ORthey at 8:57 PM on January 30, 2012 [2 favorites]

"This Must Be the Place" was a recessional I was delighted to hear at a wedding I recently attended, and I think it might translate well to acoustic guitar. "You're My Best Friend" by Queen is fairly identifiable and would be so, so sweet. "For Emily Whenever I May Find Her"?
posted by kickingthecrap at 9:10 PM on January 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: We used a nice spritely strings version of "Seasons of Love," from Rent. I thought it was pretty perfect.

I actually kind of love that idea. Rent is one of the few musicals that I don't hate (and, in fact, really love). I've found an instrumental version of the song, and it's good, but I'm having trouble imaging in on strings instead of a piano.
posted by asnider at 9:55 PM on January 30, 2012

Tom Waits love songs - "Picture in a Frame," "Johnsburg, Illnois"?
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:26 PM on January 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

Original version, or the jaunty Peyroux arrangement of, "Dance Me to the End of Love"?
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:35 PM on January 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I walked down the aisle to Eddie Vedder's Tuolumne from the Into the Wild soundtrack. It's just guitar, no vocals.
posted by vytae at 10:36 PM on January 30, 2012

I was at a wedding a few months ago that used "Seasons of Love" as the recessional (sung a capella by four women).

I think "Message of Love" by the Pretenders should be played at every wedding (haven't heard it yet), so I'm going to put in a vote for that :) I mean, come on! "The reason we're here as man and woman is to love each other, take care of each other."
posted by mskyle at 7:17 AM on January 31, 2012

Yeah, as soon as you mentioned Tom Waits I was thinking "Picture in a Frame," which is just totally shamelessly uncynical and romantic. And nothing goes "thud" or "clang" or "zgbronk!" at any point in the song. Perfect for acoustic guitar!
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:23 AM on January 31, 2012

I've always thought Mazzy Star's Five String Serenade would make a lovely processional. It depends on how long your walk is, though; it is a rather simple, repetitive song.

Picture in a Frame would also be really nice. Congratulations!
posted by Fui Non Sum at 10:43 AM on January 31, 2012

- Cake: they covered the song Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps, which could work well.
- Sinatra (or maybe no, as I said above): Fly Me to the Moon
- Leonard Cohen (though, most of his songs are too cynical): Hallelujah
- Queen: Crazy Little Thing Called Love
- Tom Waits (probably ditto on the Cohen comment): hmmmm, dunno.
- Simon and Garfunkel: Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
posted by seriousmoonlight at 8:42 AM on February 3, 2012

Arlo Guthrie's Wedding Song is actually pretty sweet, if you can find someone who doesn't sound like Arlo to sing it.
posted by blob at 8:06 PM on February 9, 2012

Harvest Moon - Neil Young
posted by YukonQuirm at 9:15 AM on February 12, 2012